A U.S. judge has granted a request by software firm Consensys for an expedited schedule in its lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Judge Reed O’Connor, in a filing on July 1, approved a timeline to consider the merits of Consensys’ case against the regulator. Bill Hughes, senior counsel for Consensys, shared some details of the judge’s ruling via X on July 2.

“Important News about Consensys v. Gensler. Judge O’Connor granted our request that he consider the merits of our case on an expedited basis: whether the SEC has Congressional authority to regulate MetaMask as a securities broker and issuer,” Hughes said.

When is the Verdict Likely?

According to Hughes, the issues are now set for consideration alongside any arguments from the SEC that Consensys’ case should not proceed. The SEC has until July 29 to file its response. Meanwhile, the deadline for filing opening briefs on the dispositive motions is September 20, 2024. Any amicus briefs must be filed by October 4, and opposition briefs by November 1, 2024. Hughes believes a ruling on the case could come around December, possibly near Christmas.

Consensys vs. SEC: Lawsuit and Counter-Lawsuit

Judge O’Connor’s decision follows closely after the SEC sued Consensys over its MetaMask platform and related staking services. Consensys had already filed a lawsuit against the SEC in April, seeking a ruling that Ethereum is not a security and that MetaMask is not a broker-dealer. In June, Consensys announced that the SEC had dropped its investigation into Ethereum 2.0. However, the SEC later filed its own lawsuit, accusing Consensys of securities violations, specifically claiming that MetaMask is an unregistered broker offering unregistered securities.

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